If the film “Thank You For Smoking” had come out when the book did in the mid-1990s, it might have had a stronger foothold in the American mainstream. Unfortunately, sometimes Hollywood is short sighted, which is why director Jason Reitman took so long to get this movie made. He just couldn’t find support.

The 90s were the heyday of spin, when it was first seen as a solid political tactic. In some ways, “Thank You For Smoking” is just slightly behind its own time. It did well enough for an indie release, but it would have really been appropriate and timely ten years ago.

It’s not that spin doesn’t happen any more. It does now more than ever. It’s just that as Americans, we’ve gotten numb to it.

“Thank You for Smoking” tells the story of Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), the premiere lobbyist for Big Tobacco. We learn how he manipulates the press and the victims of his cause. Nick is put in charge of trying to increase teen smoking by improving its image in Hollywood. He’s trying to be a good father to his son, who ends up learning some of his more smarmy tricks when Nick becomes a mentor to him. However, when he is interviewed by a sexy young journalist about his public tactics, Nick’s life starts to come apart.

The cast is really top-notch, with the exception of Katie Holmes who delivers a “Batman Begins” worthy performance. Her character, and what ends up happening with her and Nick, also serves as a part of bad writing. However, if you can get past that almost Mrs. Tom Cruise, you’ll see a smartly constructed film.

The only real complaints I have with the movie are more political than artistic (so take that for what it’s worth). I guess my biggest beef with this movie is that it has an underlying condescending tone to it. Yes, tobacco is bad. Yes, I want to keep my kids away from it. But the push of “Thank You for Smoking” goes beyond the dangers of tobacco.

There’s an underlying tone that depicts people as dumb sheep that will bend to the tricks and tactics used by the spin artists of the day. Yes, there’s a lot of spin going on in the government, but unlike some people think it does not control the world. Rather, people believe what they want to believe, and they often point to spin as an excuse.

The biggest danger with the anti-smoking lobby (along with the anti-gun and anti-drinking lobbies) is that a certain portion of its message is that we need government to save us from ourselves. I would prefer to see more personal responsibility in this world, ‘cause if these folks get their way, you won’t just be kissing your cigarettes good-bye, but your handguns, Big Macs and SUVs.

The other problem I have with the aim of this film is its insistence that it strikes out against political correctness. Mind you, when Hollywood talks about the evils of political correctness, they are never accurate. Political correctness is not, in fact, talking about how people profit from cigarette deaths. Yes, that’s not talked about in polite society, but this doesn’t have anything to do with political correctness.

Like most liberals who actually believe that Bill Maher’s show “Politically Incorrect” was actually so, they miss the point. The real dangerous political correctness comes from the liberal side. It’s the attempts at social engineering that won’t allow you to point out the differences between men and women. It’s the racial subterfuge that perpetuates white guilt and keeps minorities in their stereotypes. It’s obsessing about using “he” as a generic pronoun and distilling all the so-called unenlightened reality of history books.

“Thank You for Smoking” is many things, but it’s really not about political correctness. It’s more about the ugly nature of politics and what must be done – by all sides – to achieve their agenda.

The DVD comes with a nice selection of special features. Director Jason Reitman does a commentary along with several cast members. There’s also a large number of deleted scenes – almost enough to make a movie in itself. Not uncommon with indie films that have been touched by everyone from the grass roots to the studio big-wigs, these scenes are interesting and fun to watch to see where things would have gone if left in the film.

There’s also a making-of featurette, a somewhat misguided discussion of spin, theatrical trailers and a bevy of picture galleries. Fans of the original book will be most excited about a segment from “The Charlie Rose Show” in which the filmmakers and the author sit down with Rose to talk about the movie, the book and what it has to say.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Widescreen (2.40:1). Spanish language track. Spanish and French subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.